Melvins with Le Butcherettes
Friday, June 12
Opolis | Norman
Buzz Osborne tries not to live in the past. It’s unhealthy, he said, and despite being the forefather of both grunge and sludge metal (Nirvana, Soundgarden, Tool, Boris, and Mastodon all tout the Montesano, Washington-bred Melvins as a chief influence), he doesn’t think he can afford to, either.
“All I can say is, don’t blame us,” Osborne said of the Melvins’ legacy. “Is it really our fault? I’m glad they like us and liked us, but what it amounts to in the end … probably not much. I still have to make my way in the world. There’s only so far you can go with accolades.”
Sure, the Melvins have long been a band’s band, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to a cushy existence. 30 years forever on the fringe, they’ve sloughed through relentless touring and released over 20 albums – all created out of equal parts artistic hunger and necessity. 1993 — the year Houdini got the major label treatment via Atlantic Records, benefiting from the grunge trend Melvins had actually planted the seeds for — feels like forever ago. There was never an arena-headlining/platinum-selling era, and though it’s been a comfortable enough existence, it’s required daily hours to keep it up. (It’s no chore; Osborne is quick to remind you just how fucking fun it is to make a full-time living playing music.)
Those early years are drudged up now and again, even if their energies are now directed forward. Osborne — in the midst of yet another run with his tireless band — has spent much of the past few weeks refuting claims and questioning the validity of the HBO documentary Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck (the Courtney Love-approved chronicle of his friend’s life), but he maintains it has nothing to do with inserting himself into the picture, or even remembering those glory days, but rather defending someone who isn’t around to do so himself.
Focusing on recording and continuing to challenge themselves musically with collaborators new and old is the band’s mission statement — writing songs to push the envelope instead of satisfying the checklist of requisite, back catalog nostalgia. It’s not only healthy to shift the narrative from the past to the present; it’s a vital one for Osborne.
“You have to be relatively fearless. You have to be willing to work hard on music that is challenging and good, whatever it may be,” Osborne offered. “We’ve done an extraordinary amount of records and extraordinary amount of recording. There’s never really been a golden era of us. A lot of it has to do with us never having any big hits. So no one really expects anything of us, at least not like that.”
That was the philosophy carried into Hold It In, the latest Melvins’ LP out last year. It’s a crossover album of sorts, finding Osborne & Co. sharing the experience with Paul Leary and Jeff Pinkus of craggy Texas rockers Butthole Surfers – a kindred spirit in their black humor and crunchy guitar tones alike.
“Collaborating with the Butthole Surfers guys was a lifelong dream,” Osborne said. “Paul has long been one of my favorite guitarists, and I’m surprised more bands haven’t asked him to play with them.”
That streak of subversive humor shaking under the crust of the tectonic guitar riffs and shattering percussion is encapsulated in the title Hold It In alone, an innocent enough name born from a simple, gross-out anecdote.
“We’re at Paul Leary’s house and somehow we came to the subject of taking acid,” Osborne recalled, laughing. “Paul says, in his Texas drawl, ‘I quit taking acid because I got sick and tired of holding all the bad gas it gives me in.’ Immediately, we decided to call the album Hold It In. It felt too perfect.”
The album came naturally and quickly. Against the advice the title seems to give, it’s actually all about letting go, trusting your gut, and following where it leads.
“If you put people like us into a room, we are going to come up with music. Our instincts are correct, and we just don’t second guess anything,” Osborne explained. “Say what you will about us, but our musicianship, collectively, is second to none. So many hours spent writing, recording and playing. Jesus, all we have to do is let it go. So many musicians are their own worst enemies when it comes to that.”
And over a 30-year career, Osborne knows something about enemies. He’s made plenty in his many days playing music, agitating fans who don’t approve of the various directions the Melvins have shot off in, chiding the “gimmick” of full-album tours or the 51 shows in 51 states (that’s plus D.C.), and finding people doubting his motives for speaking up for his deceased friend Kurt. That’s all OK, though. He has a plan to endure them all.
“People are going to bitch no matter what. There’s going to be contrarians and people who have a problem with you no matter what, and that’s always been the case with us. But you know what I do. I just wait, because all those assholes will be gone eventually. You just outlast them … war by attrition,” Osborne said. “I’ll be the last man standing. I don’t care.”
